


The Fallen Stars

by Baykit



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-03-12 18:11:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baykit/pseuds/Baykit
Summary: When Pearl is kidnapped by Homeworld the Gems are at a loss as to how to rescue her. So what should the do when she comes back, but with friends?





	1. A disappearance

Steven hears the familiar whoosh of the warp pad activating. He peeked from around the TV to see Garnet step off the warp pad. Amethyst was napping on his bed.   
“Amethyst. Come on, Garnet’s back.”  
Amethyst barely raised her heard.   
“Sup Garnet. Anything in your area?”  
Earlier they had been engaged in a battle with a corrupted gem with the annoying ability to teleport and they had lost track of it. Garnet and Pearl had gone to nearby areas to look for it while Amethyst and Steven had stayed behind in case it came back.   
“No, unfortunately,” Garnet said, straightening her sunglasses, “Any word from Pearl?”  
“No, she’s not back yet and she hasn’t called,” Steven said with a worried tone.   
Amethyst laughed, “It’s Pearl. She’s probably just being extra thorough. Give her some more time.”   
Five hours later and the warp pad remained silent. Steven walked up to Garnet and grabbed onto her hand.   
“Garnet you don’t think something is wrong do you? What if the gem monster hurt her?”  
“That’s unlikely Steven. While it’s teleportation ability made it tricky to fight it wasn’t physically strong. Pearl shouldn’t have had too much trouble with it,” Garnet knelt down and put her hand on Steven’s shoulder, “Steven the reasons for Pearl being late are too numerous for me to count. But there’s very little reason to worry.”   
“But it couldn’t hurt to … just check right?” Steven said as he looked up hopefully.   
Garnet straightened up.  
“No I suppose not. Amethyst?”  
“Yeah sure. Especially if I get to rub it in her face for getting lost or something.” 

“Well the warp pad isn’t broken. Scratch that off the list.” Amethyst remarked after they landed safely.   
“Um Amethyst?”  
Amethyst could hear the rising panic in Steven’s voice. She reluctantly raised her eyes to see the startling scene before her. Trees were uprooted and others broken in half. Long strips of bare earth crisscrossed the scene. Even a boulder stood cleaved in two.  
“Garnet?” Amethyst asked with a nervous laugh, “What are the chances that nice little gem monster did all this? Maybe it hooked up with a few friends?”  
Garnet, who had been frozen with shock, straightened with her mouth set in a grimace.  
“Spread out and find Pearl. Keep in mind she have been forced into retreating inside her gem.” 

“Steven? Steven!”  
Connie stepped through the screen door that never seemed to be locked. She quickly spotted Steven lying face down on the couch. She quietly sat down next to him.   
“No luck today either?”  
“Noo,” Steven groaned.   
“I’m sure she’s okay Steven Pearl can take care of herself.”  
“But it’s been a month Connie! No one gets lost in the woods that long! At least...I’m pretty sure gems don’t.”  
“I guess that’s true. I can’t believe you couldn’t find any clues back there. Every mystery novel I’ve ever says the scene of the crime is the best place to find clues.”  
“I know.”  
“So do you want to search together?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t even know where to look next.”   
An explosion interrupted any further conversation. Connie jumped up and rushed for the screen door with Steven close behind. Connie had convinced her mom to let her come over as early as possible so the sun was still rising. This made it easy to make out the aftermath of the explosion hanging in the air and the white smoke streaming from the debris that was falling towards the ocean. It was also easy to see the trails of the three small pods that were racing away from the explosion, each in a different direction. Finally, it was all too easy to see the eerie white hand that was chasing one of the pods against the brightening sky.   
“Steven? Is that..?”  
“A Homeworld ship? I think so. It...it looks like the one Peridot arrived in.”  
“Steven? Is it just me or is that thing it’s chasing headed straight for the boardwalk?”   
“I..I think it’s an escape pod. And...Maybe?”  
“Should we get help?!”  
“Ahhh! We can’t! Everyone is out in the field! Even Peridot went out to help look!”  
“Well we need to at least go look, right? I mean what if someone is down there and gets hurt?”  
“The only thing down there is Funland and that’s closed this early.”  
“Has that ever stopped Onion?!”  
“True...”  
A second, far closer, explosion interrupted them and a column of smoke billowed up from the direction of Funland.   
“We should hurry,” Steven yelled as he raced down the steps.  
Connie adjusted Rose’s sword so that it fit snugly across her back and hurried after Steven. Arriving at the boardwalk they found it blanketed in thick smoke. Steven found himself wishing for a scarf to cover his nose with even though it was far too warm for scarves. From the corner of his eye he could see flames licking at the edges of the Funland booths.   
“Oh man. Mr. Smiley isn’t going to like this,” he said to himself.   
Steven heard Connie’s coughs long before she came up beside him.   
“Steven *cough, cough* should we *cough* fuse?”  
“I don’t know *cough* I can’t see...”   
Just then a figure came crashing through the still locked gates of Funland and came skidding to a halt just a few feet in front of them. She was curled in a tight, protective ball but Steven could just make out a smooth, oval shaped gem in the small of her back. As she slowly uncurled herself Steven recalled a nightmare he had once as a child where he had been attacked by a living shadow. Her skin was a dark gray and her long black hair hung down to waist even though it was tied up in a ponytail. The bodice of her black, backless dress was skin tight but the skirt was loose and hung down to her knees with both seams split. As she stood her knee-high stiletto boots only added to her already tall form. As she turned her gaze locked with his and he found himself frozen in fear.   
“Steven,” Connie whispered urgently as the strange gem strode towards them.   
But, just as she reached them she knelt down so that she was eye level with him. Gently, she took one of his hands and turning it so that it was facing with its palm up. Then she placed a smooth, cool object in his hand. Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his.   
“Take care of her for the moment, okay?” she said, then she rose and turned to face the smokey boardwalk once more.  
Steven looked down to find that she had handed him a gem. A gleaming, white Pearl.   
“Steven!” Connie’s shout shook Steven out of his shock.  
He looked up to see two figures emerging form the smoke. Seeing their hulking forms gave Steven flashbacks to Jasper emerging from that blizzard almost a year ago. As they came closer he could see that their skin was a light gray, a few shades lighter then the gem that had handing him the Pearl, and their hair was a snowy white. On both of their uniforms was emblazoned a whit diamond crest.   
“Give it up,” ordered the one on the right.   
“You can’t beat us both alone,” stated the one on the left.   
“I’m sorry,” she replied, “but that isn’t an option.”  
Then she reached behind her and pulled from her gem two pitch black katana swords. Then she lowered herself into a readying position. The two white gems smirked, mirror images of each other, and clasped hands. Their bodies, now transformed into blinding light, phased into each other as they expanded into their enormous form. The fusion, still smirking, reached for its gems on each shoulder and drew out two axes. Then, slamming them together, produced one gigantic double sided ax. The two gems stared at each other, motionless, as if waiting for the other to make the first move.   
“Steven,” Connie whispered, “What should we do? Should we help?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t know her, or them, or what’s going on,” Steven whispered back.  
Just then, without warning, the fusion brought its ax down on the boardwalk. The for knocked Steven and Connie to the ground and catapulted the black gem into the air. The fusion then brought her ax up into a sideways motion as if meaning to slice her in two midair. But instead the black gem regained control of her fall and landed onto the side of the ax’s blade.  
“Hey!” the fusion yelled.   
She shook the ax to try and shake her off and making her fatal mistake. The black gem used the momentum of that movement to launch herself into the air once more, above the fusions head. She extended her katana which, before Steven’s very eyes, tripled in length. In the blink of an eye she brought her blade down on the fusions hear and, effectively, cleaved her in two. All was silent except for the crashing of the waves as the black gem landed lightly on her feet back on the boardwalk. Then, with an agonizing groan, the fusions form distorted, twisted, and finally disintegrated in a puff of smoke. There were two small thunks as the two white gemstones landed on the boardwalk. The silence stretched on. Finally, the black gem righted herself and walked over to the two gemstones, first the left and then the right, and encapsulated them in dark gray bubbles. Then she slumped. Her katana dissipated and she fell to her knees and her head and shoulders drooped. The silence was so complete now that Steven’s ears began to ring. The silence seemed to last hours but it was only minutes before it was broken by the sound of running feet.   
“Steven!” Peridot yelled.   
Steven and Connie both turned to see Garnet, Amethyst and Peridot running towards them.   
“We heard the noise,” yelled Peridot.  
“Are you alright?” asked Garnet.  
“What happened here?” wondered Amethyst.  
“We’re okay.” Steven answered.  
“We were on the porch and we saw a ship. Well two ships. And the second ship blew up the first ship. But there were escape pods! And one crashed here,” Connie said.  
“Year and we had to come make sure no one was hurt. But we found her and she gave me...her,” Steven said opening his hands to reveal the Pearl.  
The gems gave a collective gasp but Connie plowed on.   
“And then these two other gems came after her! They were huge! Like, Jasper sized! Maybe some kind of white quartz?”  
“Maybe?” Steven replied, “They were definitely big enough.”  
“And then they fused and came after her! But she beat them! Sliced them right in two! I’ve never seen anything like it!”  
Garnet winced slightly and raised her eyes to look at the black gem. She hadn’t moved since they had arrived. In fact she hadn’t acknowledged their presence at all.   
“Garnet?” Steven asked.  
Garnet looked back down as Steven held the Pearl out to her.  
“Is it her?” he asked.   
Garnet let out a small sigh.  
“Yes. Or at least most likely. We’ll have to wait to be sure. But..her...”  
Garnet raised her eyes once more. She recognized this black gem. She had invaded more and more of her visions of late. But just who she was and what she was doing here she just didn’t know.   
“Steven I don’t know who his is or why she came.”  
“Me either,” Peridot chimed in, “I don’t even recognize her gem type.”   
“But she was protecting her,” Steven said looking down at Pearl, “and she fought so hard and...I think something is wrong.”   
Steven looked down at Pearl once more and handed her to Amethyst. Then he turned back towards the black gem.   
“Steven,” Garnet called.  
Steven turned back towards her.   
“Be careful. We’re right here if you need us.”  
Steven gave a small half smile and a nod and started waking towards the black gem. But he hadn’t gone more then a few steps before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Connie standing behind him. They game each other a small smile of understanding then joined hands and walked down the boardwalk together.  
There were still a few small fires burning giving the early morning scene a surreal flickering quality but there was enough light for Steven to see that there was, indeed, something terribly wrong with this gem. Her body was covered in scratches and bruises and her outfit was torn in several places. Across her back and legs were several longer, deeper gashes. Injuries that clearly should have sent her back inside her gem. In fact any one of them should have forced her back but here she sat with at least five that he could see. Steven walked carefully up beside her, but she made no sign that she had heard him.  
“Um...heey. So uh, thanks for taking care of those tow. They didn’t seem very friendly.”   
Steven moved a bit closer to her left side. She raised her eyes to look at him but made no other movement.   
“And thank you for bringing Pearl back. We were really worried about her and we didn’t know where she had gone. Um...”  
Steven looked at the two bubbles hovering before him.  
“Why didn’t you tap your bubbles? To send them off?”   
“Doing that is meant to send them home. I’m afraid if I do, I have little idea where they would end up,” she replied in a whisper Steven could barely hear.   
“You don’t have a home?” he asked.   
“No. If they are bothering you, you may take care of them yourself.”   
“Oh um okay.”  
Steven walked to each of the gray bubbles and tapped the top of them to send them to the temple.   
“Are you okay?!” Connie suddenly yelled.  
Steven and the black gem turned their heads to look at her. She was standing with her hands covering her mouth as if surprised by her own outburst.   
“It’s just...Pearl said.. the gems said… those wounds… shouldn’t you be….?”  
The black gem gave a sad smile.  
“I would if I could. But...”  
She raised her right arm and Steven realized that most of her lower arm was covered by a silver gantlet.   
“Oh, um, we can help with that….I think. Peridot!” Steven called.   
Steven heard the rapid tap tapping of Peridot running up the boardwalk.  
“Steven! Are you okay? Did she hurt you? Do I need to get rid of her?!”  
“No! Peridot I’m fine. I need you to help her.”  
“Wait, what?”  
“Here.”  
Steven took Peridot’s hand and brought her to the black gem’s side so she could see the gantlet. He heard Peridot let out a sharp gasp.   
“Do you know what it is?” Steven asked.   
“Yes, though I’ve never seen one in person. Steven, this is a gladiators gantlet.”  
“Oh I heard you had gladiator rings. Um, ‘for important fighters to fight in’ right?”  
“Yes, well, that’s how it used to be anyways. Now the fights are more about...entertainment then any sort of honor.”  
“Entertainment?” Connie asked.   
“It used to be that the gladiator ring was used to be used to sort out arguments between quartz generals while providing some entertainment for the other gems. Now it’s a punishment. Any...renegade gems are sent to the ring to fight for as long as possible for as much entertainment as possible.”   
“What does that have to do with the gantlet?” Connie asked.   
“They’re meant to prolong the entertainment. They send a...current of sorts through their bodies and into their gems that prevents them from...poofing once they get injured. Keeps the fight going longer.”  
“But that’s horrible!” Steven cried.   
“That’s Homeworld,” Peridot stated.   
“So can you get it off?” Connie asked.  
“Maybe. They’re supposed to have individualized codes for each gantlet but the Peridots working there are notoriously lazy so..”  
Peridot knelt down next to the black gem.  
“Uh, may I?”  
The black gem gave a small smile and placed her arm in Peridot’s lap.   
“Hang on a second,” Steven said.   
Both Peridot and the black gem looked up at him.   
“Can I know your name? Before you...um...go?”  
The black gem gave a small chuckle.   
“It’s Obsidian.”  
Peridot pressed her hand against some hidden panel and a screen appeared in front of her, floating in midair. Quickly she punched in a code and with a soft hiss the gantlet popped open and fell to the ground with a thud. With a soft, relieved sigh Obsidian’s physical form dissolved in a cloud of smoke as Steven reached out to catch her gem.   
“Obsidian. I’ve got you,” Steven whispered mostly to himself.


	2. A Chilly Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something is leaving ice trails in the woods

Only a few minutes after Obsidian had been released, the gems sat gathered in the living room. The tension was palpable as everyone’s focus was on the two baskets sitting on the counter. One holding Pearl, the other Obsidian.  
“So, um Peridot?” Connie piped up, breaking the silence.  
“Yeah?”  
“How did you know the code? For the gauntlet?”  
“Oh, well..” Peridot said, looking down at the gauntlet that was laying on the table in front of the couch, “I heard a rumor, back when I was working in one of the kindergartens, that the Peridots in charge of maintaining the gladiator rings were so lazy they never bothered to change the gauntlet codes from the original factory settings. Guess it was true.”  
“Oh well, that’s lucky. For us anyways,” Connie said.  
“So I know Pearl will take a while, but what about our new buddy?" Amethyst said, nudging Obsidian’s basket from her position on the bar stool.  
“Don’t look at me,” Peridot said, “Knowing her name didn’t help. I’ve never even heard of a gem type called Obsidian.”  
“I have,” Garnet said, adjusting her glasses, “Or more specifically Sapphire has. Only rumors, she’d certainly never seen one before. But if the rumors are any indication, it shouldn’t be long.”  
“But what about her injuries?” Steven asked.  
“That might make her take longer. But I suspect it will still take less time then Pearl’s regeneration,” Garnet stood and gave a sigh, “In the meantime we have work to do. Amethyst you stay here with Steven and Connie. Peridot you come with me. We need to clean up the crash before someone carries off some Homeworld technology.”  
“You mean Ronaldo?” Steven asked.  
“Yes.” said Garnet.  
“What about the other escape pods?” Steven asked.  
“Other escape pods?” The gems asked, each with varying degrees of panic in their voices.  
“That’s right!” Connie exclaimed, “When the first ship exploded three escape pods left! The White Quartz’s ship chased down Obsidian Pearl’s pod but the other two escaped!”  
“Do you know where they went?” Garnet asked.  
“Um,”  
Steven and Connie both looked at each other with embarrassment on their faces. Garnet sighed again.  
“Then that will have to wait as well. Peridot, come on.”  
Steven walked over to counter and climbed up on a bar stool as Garnet and Peridot left.  
“I know we have to wait but for how long?” He asked to no one in particular.  
Two days later and Steven was, once again, sitting at the bar stool staring at the two gems. He knew it wouldn’t do any good starting at them like this but he couldn’t help it. He heard the slight whir and whoosh of the temple door opening.  
“Still nothing?” Amethyst asked.  
“Noo,” Steven sighed.  
“Jeez. I knew Pearl was going to take forever but not this Obsidian person,” Amethyst said poking Obsidian’s basket.  
“I know,” Steven said, “and the way Garnet keeps looking at her... I don’t think she thought it would take this long either.”  
“Hey Steven,” Amethyst said, hopping up on another bar stool, “Do you think there’s something Garnet isn’t telling us about her?”  
Steven glanced over at Obsidian. Her gem was no bigger then Pearl’s and yet it’s presence seemed to fill the room.  
“Maybe? I mean she said Sapphire had only heard rumors and I don’t think she likes saying anything unless she’s sure.”  
“True,” Amethyst groaned, “Well sitting around here isn’t doing anyone any good. Let’s go get some fry bits.”  
“But Garnet doesn’t want them left alone.”  
“Where is Garnet anyways?”  
“Still out cleaning up the crash site with Peridot. I think they’re almost done.”  
“Hmm,” Amethyst grumbled.  
Amethyst’s eye slid toward the door, then towards Steven, and then towards Obsidian’s gem in her basket. She reached over to Obsidian’s basket and picked it up.  
“Alright let’s go,” she said.  
She shoved the basket under her arm and trotted out the door.  
“Ah! Amethyst wait!” Steven yelled, rushing after her.  
Amethyst was already halfway to town when Steven caught up.  
“Amethyst wait! What if she reforms in town? She could hurt someone!”  
“Oh come on Steven. She came here with Pearl. You really think Pearl would be all chummy with a gem that would go and hurt humans for no good reason?”  
“I guess not...”  
“And she didn’t hurt you and Connie when you first met right?”  
“Then it’s fine. Now come on. Fresh air and fast food are exactly what you need to feel better.”  
They made their way down the boardwalk towards Beach Citywalk Fries and saw Peedee working the front.  
“Hey Steven,” Peedee said placing a bag of fry bits on the counter.  
“Aww you didn’t even let me order.”  
“Steven, you always order the same thing,” Peedee said.  
“But ordering is half the fun.”  
“Yeah come on Peedee,” Amethyst chimed in.  
“Well maybe sneak around back next time so I don’t see you coming.”  
“Hmm,” Steven said handing Peedee his money, “Hey, doesn’t Ronaldo usually work Tuesdays? He isn’t down at the boardwalk trying to sneak past Garnet is he?”  
“No, I mean he tried that but she tossed him in the ocean and nearly ruined his phone.”  
“Oh sorry.”  
“Don’t worry about it. Anyways now he’s out in the woods? I guess?”  
“The woods? With a crashed spaceship right on the beach?” Amethyst said, raising her eyebrow.  
“Yeah someone left a comment on his blog...”  
“Wait. People actually read that?”Amethyst interrupted.  
“I read it,” Steven said.  
“Besides you." Amethyst said.  
“Apparently,” replied Peedee, “Anyways someone left a comment about something weird going on in the woods and he ran off yelling something about…”  
“A WHOLE NEW CONSPIRACY!” Ronaldo yelled, bursting in from around the corner.  
“I never get to finish a sentence around here,” Peedee sighed.  
Ronaldo was covered in mud and there were twigs stuck in his hair. He wore a manic grin on his face and he clutched his camera to his chest.  
“Ronaldo! There’s something going on in the woods?” Steven asked.  
“Steven my man I thought you’d never ask. One of my loyal followers has spotted evidence of an ice monster lurking in our very woods.”  
“Ice monster?” Amethyst and Peedee asked.  
“Yes! What else could leave patches of ice in the middle of summer? I’ve spent all morning gathering this evidence.”  
Ronaldo presented the camera screen to them and showed them a series of photos. There was a boulder half covered in ice, the side of a tree covered in ice, and a small pond that had been turned into an ice rink.  
“I spent all morning searching for the creature but I couldn’t find it. But I’m not giving up! I will be the first to photograph the… BEACH CITY ICE WALKER!”  
“The what?” asked Peedee.  
“Give me that,” said Amethyst as she swiped the camera from Ronaldo.  
“Hey!” protested Ronaldo.  
Amethyst stared intently at the screen as she flipped through the pictures once more.  
“Here,” she said and handed Obsidian’s basket to Steven.  
Then she raced back towards the temple with Rolando’s camera in her hand.  
“My camera!” Ronaldo cried.  
“Ah! Don’t worry! I’ll get it back for you!” Steven said.  
Steven looked around hurriedly, grabbed the fry bits off the counter, and jogged after Amethyst.  
Steven burst through the door, panting slightly after his awkward run balancing both Obsidian and the fry bits. Amethyst, Garnet and Peridot were standing in a tight circle in the center of the room.  
“Amethyst! You can’t just run off with people’s stuff! Even if those pictures might be important!”  
“Pictures?” Garnet asked, cocking her head to one side.  
“In a second Steven,” Amethyst said, “Peridot found something in the wreck.”  
“Oh, uh hang on.”  
Steven walked over to the counter and slid Obsidian and the fry bits on to it. Then he trotted over to Peridot who was holding a long silver object.  
“Is that another gladiators gauntlet?” Steven asked.  
“I think so,” Peridot said, “and if you look here...”  
Peridot turned the gauntlet over to reveal a large dent in one side.  
“I’m guessing it got damaged in the crash. That stopped the current and allowed the gem to retreat back inside her gemstone.”  
“But why is it so small?” Steven asked, “I mean it’s way skinnier than Obsidian’s.”  
There was a tense moment of silence before Garnet spoke.  
“Steven, we only know of one other gem that was in that pod.”  
“Wait...you mean you think PEARL was wearing that?!” Steven cried.  
“It does seem to be her size,” Peridot stated.  
“But that would mean..she was fighting? This whole time?” Steven said, tears welling up in his eyes.  
“Steven,” Garnet said kneeling down in front of him, “I know this is hard to think about right now and it is possible that she’s gone through something horrible. But we don’t know anything for sure right now. All we can do is wait for her to reemerge and make sure we’re here for her when she does. Alright?”  
Steven looked up at her with a smile and nodded with tears still falling from his eyes.  
“Good,” she said and gave Steven’s shoulder a squeeze. “Now what’s this about pictures?”  
“Oh right,” Amethyst pulled the camera out from under her arm and handed it to Garnet.  
Amethyst kept talking as Garnet slowly flipped through the photos.  
“That Ronaldo kid took them in the woods. I mean that much ice in the middle of the summer, that’s weird enough for us right?”  
“Hmm,” Garnet said pressing more buttons on the camera, “Right. Amethyst and Peridot you stay here. Steven and I will check out the woods.”  
“Whaat? But I want to go looking for the Beach City Ice Walker too!” Amethyst complained.  
“Beach City what?” Peridot asked.  
“It’s the name Ronaldo made up for the ice creature in the woods,” Steven explained.  
“Amethyst,” Garnet said, “Obsidian could reform at any moment. Even if she doesn’t mean any harm she will still be surrounded by things that are new and strange to her and there’s no telling how she will react. I want you both here in case things go wrong.”  
“Fine,” Amethyst sighed, “I guess that makes sense.”  
Garnet gave a small nod.  
“Alright Steven let’s go.”  
“Can we return Ronaldo’s camera on the way?”  
“Sure.”  
A short while later Steven and Garnet found themselves on a narrow walking path through the woods.  
“So do you know what we’re looking for, Garnet?” Steven asked.  
“I have a theory.”  
“What is it?”  
“Hmm,” Garnet said putting her hand to her chin, “Guess.”  
“Oh, um...a corrupted gem?”  
“That’s unlikely.”  
“Aww why not?”  
“Well, as you’ve seen before, corrupted gems tend to be more destructive then just freezing a few rocks.”  
“Hmm that’s true...wait do you think it’s a normal gem? Like from one of the other escape pods?!”  
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Garnet said.  
“But then why is she freezing stuff?”  
There could be several reasons. She could be just scared. Or...”  
Garnet paused for a moment.  
“Or what?” Steven asked.  
“Or she’s defending herself.” 

“You mean she’s under attack?! Then we need to hurry and help her!”  
   
Garnet chuckled and patted Steven’s head.  
“But first we have to find her. Let’s start by finding those ice patches,” Garnet said.  
They found the frozen pond first. Then the frozen tree and then the boulder.   
“I think this is as far as Ronaldo got,” Steven said.  
“Makes sense. The trail gets steeper here,” Garnet replied.  
They continued up the hill. At one point Garnet had to stop and catch Steven as he slid backwards on a section of frozen path. But the trail of frozen objects continued. In fact the number of frozen objects seemed to increase until they came across a series of four trees frozen in one spot.  
“She’s getting desperate,” Garnet said, her feet crunching on some frozen grass.  
“I think there’s a clearing up ahead,” Steven said.  
Steven and Garnet continued until they reached the break in the trees. The scene before him reminded him of the year Beach City had put up ‘Winter Wonderland’ decorations in the middle of June to try and beat the heat. One of Mayor Dewey’s mind over matter ideas. Everything in the clearing had been covered in a delicate sheet of pale blue ice. Steven could even see the individual blades of grass and each individual leaves on the trees that had been covered in an almost an artistic manner. Standing in the center of the clearing was a miniature princess.  
Her dress was long and flowing with sleeves that almost reached the ground. The skirt and sleeves were a dark purple and the bodice was black. Her skin was a lighter purple and her hair an even lighter shade of purple as it swept down her back in swooping waves. Her hair was slightly pinned away from her face by a medieval looking hair net but her bangs still fell over her eyes… or perhaps…  
“Garnet is that...a Sapphire?”  
“It seems so.”  
“But why would a Sapphire come here?”  
“Well...let’s find out.”  
Garnet stepped into the clearing, her hands raised.  
“Greetings,” Garnet said.  
The Sapphire whirled around to face them. Steven peeked out from behind Garnet. Now that she was facing them Steven could see she had the image of a white diamond emblazoned on her bodice. But before Steven could wonder what that meant she raised her right arm, the sleeve falling back to reveal her small hand with her gemstone sitting on the back of her hand. Her gemstone glowed and the light expanded to form a purple crossbow that she raised to point at them. But despite this act of bravado Steven could see she was shaking.  
“Wait!” Steven cried, “We aren’t here to hurt...”  
“Duck” the Sapphire ordered.  
“What?” Steven asked as Garnet pulled him to the ground.  
The Sapphire shot into the air where Garnet’s head had been just moments before. Steven turned as the corrupted gem let out a gargled scream. The gem monster looked like an elongated hornet about the same size as Steven. It’s mottled yellow-brown gemstone was embedded into its upper thorax. Unfortunately the Sapphire’s shot had only hit the corrupted gem’s lower abdomen, encasing it’s long stinger in ice. It screamed again shaking its abdomen until it removed then appeared with a slight popping noise, disappeared.  
“I think we found the teleporting gem monster,” Steven said while summoning his shield.  
“It would seem so,” Garnet said while pressing her fists together to summon her gauntlets.  
The three of them backed into a tight circle and waited in tense silence. Out of the corner of his eye Steven could see the Sapphire was still shaking, but out of fear, exhaustion or anticipation he couldn’t tell. Suddenly Steven saw a small cloud of steam forming just to his left and he realized why the Sapphire had frozen the clearing. The gem monster must produce heat in the area it was about to appear in. With the lowered temperature in the clearing the gem monster would be forced to produce a cloud of steam before it appeared giving the Sapphire warning of its incoming attack.  
“There!” Steven yelled, pointing at the cloud.  
Garnet whirled around, launching herself at the cloud just as the gem monster popped back into existence. But the corrupted gem was too fast and Garnet’s hit missed. The Sapphire started firing her ice bolts again but without her former element of surprise, the gem monster evaded easily. Steven launched his shield like a discus and, maybe because the corrupted gem was distracted by the Sapphire’s bolts or maybe because it was getting cocky, the shield clipped off the gem monsters left wing. The gem monster let out another gargled scream as it dropped towards the ground where it was met by Garnet’s gauntlets. With a sudden poof the gem was quickly bubbled and sent to the temple by Garnet. Steven heard a soft crunch behind him. He turned to see that the mysterious Sapphire had sunk to her knees, her crossbow gone.  
“Are...you okay?” Steven asked, cautiously walking up to her.  
“I appear to be in one piece,” she replied.  
“You came in one of those escape pods, right?”  
“I came in a ship. But yes, I was forced to land in one of escape pods.”  
“Oh...but, you came here with Pearl right? So you guys must be friends, right?”  
“I helped her get the ship and we flew together for… awhile. I am not sure that would qualify us as...friends.”  
“Then why did you help her?” Garnet asked.  
“It was for the best...no,” she said clutching as her skirt, “it needed to happen.”  
“Did you see something?” Steven asked.  
“I’ve seen plenty. Now we should go,” she said rising to her feet, “I believe the loss of light on this planet is a signal to retreat indoors, correct?”  
Steven looked up to see that the sun was retreating below the treetops.  
“Yeah I guess that’s true. But wait, where are you going to go?” Steven asked.  
“With you of course.”  
“You’re coming home with us?!” Steven yelled in surprise.  
“Is that a problem?” the Sapphire asked sounding, for the first time since he’d met her, uncertain.  
“No that works just fine,” Garnet said stepping closer.  
Steven could hardly contain his excitement as they headed back towards town.  
“This is going to be great! I can show you my room, the house although my room is a big part of the house, and I can show you Beach City, and introduce you to all my friends! You’re going to love it here...um is just ‘Sapphire’ okay?”  
The Sapphire paused for a moment.  
“My full title is Midnight Sapphire. If you feel the need to shorten it Midnight will work...just fine,” she said.  
“Alright, Midnight! I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone. Hey you can see the town from here!”  
It was true, as they reached the edgy of the forest they could see the town spreading out before them with the lights just starting to come on in a few houses as the sun continued to set. Midnight didn’t say a word as entered the town but Steven noticed her quickly turning her head from side to side, as if she was trying to take in every detail of the town at once. As they reached Beach Citywalk Fries Steven noticed PeeDee in the window just starting to close up.  
“Hi PeeDee. Where’s Ronaldo?”  
“Oh, hey Steven. He headed back into the woods,” PeeDee responded.  
“Isn’t it kinda late for that?”  
“It wouldn’t be the first time he’s spent the night in the woods. If he’s not back by morning dad will go out and find him. Besides it was impossible to convince him not to go after he found that the pictures had been deleted off his camera.”  
“Deleted? But I didn’t...” Steven stopped then turned to look at Garnet.  
“Whoops,” Garnet said, adjusting her glasses.  
“Riight,” said PeeDee, “So are you going to introduce me to your friend?”  
“Oh right,” Steven said, “this is...”  
“The Beach City Ice Walker, obviously,” interrupted Midnight.  
There was a rather long and awkward pause.  
“Wait, what?” PeeDee asked, obviously confused.  
“Midnight! This is Midnight Sapphire! She’s...uhh… a relative! And she’s going to...be staying with us...yeah that’s it,” Steven rambled and ended with a nervous laugh.  
“How do you do,” Midnight said and curtsied without missing a beat.  
“Oh um… not to bad,” PeeDee stammered with hints of color rising to his cheeks, “Well nice to meet you. I guess I better close up now.”  
“We’ll leave you be,” Garnet said beginning to steer Midnight and Steven away from the fry stand.  
As the trio reached the beach Steven turned to Midnight.  
“So how did you know about the name Ronaldo gave you? Did you see it with your future vision?”  
“Yes I was aware it was a highly likely consequence to my leaving my ice fields all over the place. It seemed inconsequential compared to me being shattered though.”  
“Oh definitely,” Steven agreed.  
They walked the rest of the way to the house in silence. As they approached the house Steven heard Peridot speaking.  
“And they have to keep eating every few hours to keep their energy up.”  
Another voice replied, one that was just barely familiar to Steven.  
“That seems, inefficient.”  
“It is,” Peridot replied.  
Steven rushed up the stairs and threw open the screen door. Amethyst, Peridot and Obsidian looked up from their position on the couch where they had been gathered around Peridot’s iPad.  
“Obsidian! You’re back!”  
“Yes I have successfully regenerated,” she said, not moving from her spot on the couch.  
“Oh uh right. I suppose I didn’t get to introduce myself. Last time we met I mean.”  
“You are Steven Universe correct?”  
“Uh yes...”  
“Half human son of Rose Quartz? Son of Greg Universe? Future leader of the Crystal Gems?” Obsidian asked, ticking off each of these titles with her fingers.  
“Uh yeah but how did you know all that? Did you guys tell her?” Steven asked turning to Peridot and Amethyst.  
Peridot quickly shook her head.  
“She just popped out a minute ago,” Amethyst said, “We haven’t had time to tell her much of anything.”  
“Can you read minds?!” Steven asked his eyes sparkling with excitement.  
Obsidian gave a small snort of amusement.  
“No, those are things Pearl told me about you.”  
“So you are a friend of Pearl's?” Garnet asked, stepping inside the house and behind Steven.  
“Yes, I believe our relationship fulfills your requirements of...friends,” Obsidian said, seeming to pause and mull over the word ‘friends’ for a moment.  
Obsidian gave herself a small shake and then stood. Steven realized she had changed her outfit. The fabric of her dress still draped down over her right calf but it was pinned up over her left thigh, giving the skirt a sweeping, layered effect. She also had a Chinese-like collar around her neck but there was still a diamond shaped hole underneath that exposed her collar bone and a small section of her chest. She smoothed her skirt a bit and then stood up straight.  
“I do believe if anyone needs an introduction it would be me.”  
Garnet gave a small not giving her permission to continue.  
“As you know I am an Obsidian. There are very few of us so I doubt my facet and cut matter to you. I am a former...soldier and gladiator of Homeworld. And now I’m...here.”  
“Here to stay if I’m not mistaken,” Midnight said stepping inside.  
“Whaa?! Another Sapphire?!” Amethyst said leaning forward from the couch.  
“She was the one Ronaldo was tracing. This is Midnight Sapphire. But she said we can call her Midnight,” Steven said.  
“Pleased to meet you,” Midnight said giving another small curtsy.  
“So Middy, I see you managed not to crash,” Obsidian clipped.  
“I managed not to shatter myself on impact if that’s what you’re insinuating,” Midnight retorted with a slight edge to her tone, “and I thought I asked you not to call me ‘Middy’.”  
“Maybe,” Obsidian said sinking back onto the couch, “I really can’t recall.”  
“Wait so you two know each other?” Steven asked.  
“A little,” said Midnight.  
“Just from our time on the ship,” Obsidian added.  
“Oh right,” Steven said blushing in embarrassment.  
“Wait a minute,” Obsidian said cocking her head to one side, “Middy...where’s Phosphorus?”  
Midnight stiffened slightly. Steven felt an odd brush of cold against his leg. He looked down to see that the floor directly around Midnight had frozen.  
“Mi-ddy,” Obsidian said drawing out each syllable.  
“The pod malfunctioned mid-air,” Midnight replied, her voice tight, “the hatch opened and she...well her bubble...fell out before I could do anything.”  
“Let me get this straight,” Obsidian said rising from the couch and walking towards Midnight, “Your one condition on helping us escape. Your one gem we had to break out of Homeworld is now MISSING?!”  
Steven heard a slight chink and looked down to see Midnight’s circle of ice had expanded.  
“Obsidian,” Garnet warned, placing her hand on her shoulder.  
“Sorry,” Obsidian said backing down, “It’s just after all the trouble we went through to get her out and now she's missing and probably, lets be honest her bubble probably didn’t survive the fall, loose and we don’t even know what she can DO.”  
“Wait,” Peridot said, “What?”


	3. A First Time for Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new gem emerges

A blue escape pod streaks through the air. It shudders, blue energy crackles around it. Suddenly, the hatch opens and a small purple orb drops toward the ground. It hits the water with a soft splash then bobs to the surface. For days it is swept along the coast, somehow staying within view of the shore, but never quite reaching the shore. Finally it reaches the shore of a city wreathed in smog and smoke when a large wave finally pushes it to shore. As it is pushed up onto the shore Midnight Sapphire’s bubble reaches its limit and quietly bursts, dropping a fist sized blue-green gem onto the dirty beach.  
Light emerges from the gem and takes the form of a woman. She is neither short not tall, fat nor thin, but somewhere in between all four. As the light fades it reveals the woman’s light green skin. Her hair is a short pixie cut and is made up of mottled streaks of light blue and darker green streaks. Her clothing is a simple dark green, sleeveless jumpsuit with the pants part ending a good few inches above the knees. On her chest, a square shaped hole in her jumpsuit reveals her gemstone. It has an octagonal shape but it almost appears half finished. Only the right side appears to be cut in it’s classic shape but the left is still smooth, as if a jeweler had stopped half way through his work.  
The gem looked around and immediately felt fear. Memories engraved into her very being spoke of a planet covered in crystalline structures. A planet of rigid order and beauty, where the air is always cool and still and something insider her labeled this place ‘home.’ The world before her was everything but that. An unseen force brushed against her skin and lifted the ends of her hair. Liquid splashed against her feet and swirled against her ankles as it was pulled away only to return moments later. The surface beneath her seemed strangely unstable as it seemed to shift beneath her every time she moved. The structures behind her looked ugly to her, crammed and squashed together and looking like they were made out of the dullest materials in the universe. Then there was the terrible racket coming from the structures. A horrible din made up of squeals and skreetches and many other noises she couldn’t identify. To top it all off the structures seemed to be wreathed in a strange haze that sent an instinctual shiver throughout her form.  
It was all too much. She crouched down, her head in her hands. Where was she? What was she doing here without another gem in sight? Slowly she reached a conclusion. She was made by the Diamonds, for the Diamonds. Therefore, she had to have been brought here for their purposes. Only something must have gone wrong. There was no possible way the Diamonds would have sent her here without an escort of some kind. For she was Phosphorus, the one and only Light of the Diamonds. Yes, her escort was out there and she just needed to find them. And, unfortunately, the strange structures behind her were the best place to start. Slowly she stood and began walking towards the structures, the strange surface beneath her shifting with her every step and slowing her progress. 

Steven shrugged his guitar case over his shoulder. He had to meet everyone over at Sour Creams house soon. Buck had gotten “Sadie Killer and the Suspects” a gig in Jersey and he couldn’t disappoint them now. He walked down the steps from his bedroom. Obsidian was on the couch flipping through a slightly wrinkled magazine he suspected had been dug out of Amethysts room. Amethyst, of course, was raiding the fridge.  
“Yo Steve-O! You leaving for the big city?” Amethyst teased.  
“Heh, I don’t think Jersey counts as the big city Amethyst.”  
“Steven, you’re leaving? Why?” Obsidian asked.  
“Oh, well, I have a gig with my band and… I’ll be back by tomorrow.”  
“A band?” Obsidian asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.  
“You know… a group that gets together to sing and make music...and make everyone listening happy?”  
“Like… a group of Pearls?” Obsidian said, her tone still questioning.  
“Um … sort of? I’ll explain more later. I have to run.”  
Steven headed to the door but turned back one last time.  
“Are you sure you guys don’t need my help?”  
Amethyst dumped what appeared to be the entire contents of the fridge on the counter before answering.  
“Steven don’t worry. Garnet, Midnight, and Peridot are recovering Midnight’s pod and Obsidian and I have things here. Go on.”  
“But what about Phosphorus?”  
“Garnet said not to worry about it for now. I mean how do we search for her when we don’t even know what she looks like?” Amethyst said.  
“I guess so...”  
“Just go already! All you can do is keep an eye out for strange gems.”  
Steven gave a small laugh and headed out the door. He met Sadie, Buck, Jenny and Sour Cream at Sour Creams house. He, Sadie and Sour Cream crammed into the back seat while Buck rode shotgun and Jenny drove. Together they headed for Jersey. 

The structures were even stranger up close then they had seemed from far away. They were made out of rough, ugly stone that only seemed to come in shades of gray and brown. The only specks of beauty she could see were the square rows of crystal that dotted the sides of the buildings. She even found that she could look through these square crystals to see inside the ‘buildings’ as she had now heard them called.  
And the creatures that inhabited them! She gathered that they must be organic from the squishy feeling of the bodies as they bumped into her. Their color seemed only to range from white to a dark brown but their figures seemed to be almost as varied as the Gems. At first she feared her green skin would draw unwanted attention but the creatures barely seemed to notice her. Perhaps they were too busy? They all were moving amazingly fast, although how they did so without crashing into each other was a mystery to her. Or perhaps they had seen Gems before? There was nothing to do except try to communicate with them.  
“Excuse me,” Phosphorus said reaching for one of the creatures who was rather tall and had rather broad shoulders.  
It jerked away from her touch and whirled around to look at her. It’s eyes widened and it stepped backwards. Phosphorus stepped forward with one arm outstretched towards it.  
“I’m sorry… I’m looking...have you seen..?”  
With a sudden surge the creature flings her backwards into one of the buildings. When she looked up again it had vanished into the ever moving tide of its peers.  
Feeling even more lost then before she stepped into a narrow opening in-between the buildings. She finds herself in what appears to be a passageway between the buildings. Luckily it seems to be devoid of any of the creatures. She walked slowly, hugging herself as tightly as she could. She passes by several large green cubes that were letting loose uniquely horrible scents. Suddenly she has the creeping feeling of being watched. Her steps slow and she looks from side to side. Suddenly, an odd mass that had been lying next to one of the green cubes begins to move. It wasn’t until a pinkish face peeked out that she realized it was another one of the creatures! It reaches out a thin dirty hand to her.  
“Change for the poor?” It asked in a creaky voice.  
Phosphorus could only give a squeak of terror before racing away. As soon as her terror began to fade she dove behind of of the green cubes. She didn’t mind the smell as long as she was out of view of those creatures. She just didn’t understand. What could her mission possibly be on this strange planet.  
“Mew,” said a small voice.  
Phosphorus looked for the source and saw a small black face poking out from under the green cube. It was rather round with big green eyes that had pupils like slits. Phosphorous inched away cautiously.  
“May-a” said the face.  
A black appendage poked out from under the cube and the creature inched forward. First the entire head emerged with two triangular ears popping up as soon as they had room. A small skinny body came next. Then, finally, it’s little black behind complete with a scrawny tail freed itself from the cube.  
“Maah,” said the tiny creature opening its mouth wide enough for her to see its tiny, needle like teeth.  
Whatever this creature was it was clearly different from the others she had encountered so far. Perhaps it wouldn’t mind her so much? She reached for it, slowly, and once her hand got close enough the creature raised its head to brush against her palm. Phosphorous was amazed to find this creature was...soft. Yes, that was the word. She gently lifted the creature from the ground and held it to her chest, right against her gem. To her surprise the creature began to vibrate. Phosphorus decided it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. 

Steven, Sadie, Buck, Jenny and Sour Cream stared at the stage. It had to be at least twice the size of any stage they had been on before. The stage manager had left them moments ago telling them to set up however they pleased, but they were finding it difficult to stop staring.  
“B-Buck,” Sadie stammered.  
“Yeah?”  
“How exactly did you convince 7-Force we should open for them?”  
“I didn’t. They saw one of our videos and liked it so they emailed me asking if we could open their next gig.”  
“But, I mean are we really ready for this? We’ve only played a few small gigs.”  
“Yeah guys, I don’t know,” Jenny said, “I heard that if a Jersey audience doesn’t like your music they’ll crumple up their programs and throw them at you.”  
Sour Cream gave a start.  
“Wait they actually give out programs?” he asked.  
“Not my point,” Jenny said.  
They all stared in silence for a moment at the stage and seating are that only seemed to grow larger before their eyes. Steven forced himself to take a deep breath.  
“Guys we have to calm down. They might be from Jersey but they’re still people. And the other people we’ve played for loved us. We just have to trust that so will they,” he said.  
Jenny gave her head a quick shake.  
“Steven’s right! Let’s do this!” she cried.  
“Yeah! Who are we?!” Sadie yelled.  
“Sadie Killer and the Suspects!” they chorused before filing out onto the stage to set up.

Phosphorous wasn’t sure how long she had been huddled in her little hiding spot. The sky had gone from a smoky gray to a blackish-gray. None of this really mattered as her fuzzy new companion seemed content to stay with her. Suddenly, there was a blaze of light in the distance. As she stood to get a better look she could see lights moving and dancing just beyond the buildings in the distance. She could also detect a sound that was somehow different from the constant cascade of sound that she had grown used to. Slowly it dawned on her. It had to be her gem guards! They had given up trying it find her and were trying to signal her instead. She knew she had to hurry but she was forced to pause. Later she could never put her finger on the exact reason she did it. Maybe because it provided the first friendly touch she could ever recall. Maybe because it had stayed with her when no one else was there for her. Either way, Phosphorous paused, turned, picked up her fuzzy friend, and walked off at a brisk pace toward the lights. 

It had been nerve-wracking at first playing under so many lights but, now nothing felt so natural. Steven looked up to catch the crowd cheering yet again for Sadie. I t was hard to believe she used to be so terrified of singing in front of others. It was too bad they were just opening for 7-Force. He felt like he could keep playing for hours. Looking out into the crowd he thought he saw an odd flash of green but...no. It was probably just another fan with dyed hair. Steven turned his focus back to playing. There was a tricky riff coming up that he didn’t want to mess up. 

The lights were definitely not a gem signal. It was some sort of performance being put on by the creatures. She was overwhelmed by the sheer number of them all packed closely together. How could they stand it? She had been slowly making her way through the crowd, trying to catch sight of any gems but she was quickly realizing that these creatures hair and… body coverings came in a greater variety of colors then she thought. Now, feeling the situation was hopeless, she tried to exit the crowd. But this task was proving to be far more difficult then she thought it would be. For every step she took forward a creature shoved her two steps back. She didn’t understand, did they not want her to leave? The longer she was in the crowd the more Phosphorus felt her panic level rise and with it, an unfamiliar sensation of...pressure coming form her gem. The noise coming from the raised platform wasn’t helping either. For some reason it was causing chills to travel through her physical form. And finally there was her little friend who she could feel trembling against her chest. It was from this planet and it was scared too so something must be really wrong. Suddenly an avalanche of sound erupted from the crowd and Phosphorus found herself moving at an incredible rate. Suddenly she was ejected from the crowd where she was slammed into a large, grew box. It was too much. The pressure inside her gem released all at once in a blinding flash of green-blue light. When it cleared everything had gone dark. 

“What’s going on?” Sadie asked, the pitch of her voice raising.  
“Must be a blackout,” Buck yelled, trying to be heard over the yells of the crowd as they rushed to follow the glow-in-the-dark trails that led to the exits.  
Steven rubbed his eyes. Sadie had just been getting the crowd riled up fro their last song when there had been that weird flash of light before everything went dark.  
“A blackout?” he asked.  
“Yeah, it’s probably this old building,” Jenny said from somewhere to his left, “They probably went overboard with all these spotlights and the old wiring couldn’t handle it.”  
“What should we do?” Steven asked.  
“Wait for the crowd to leave. Then we can follow the trails out,” Sour Cream said from somewhere behind him.  
They waited as, slowly, the sounds of the exiting crowd quieted. It was then that Steven noticed something odd. Off to the right of the stage there was a circular object that was letting off a slight greenish glow.  
“Okay I think we’re okay to leave,” Sour Cream said.  
“Wait guys, what’s that?” Steven asked pointing towards the glow.  
There was a moment of silence.  
“Uh Steven? We can’t see where you’re pointing,” Jenny stated.  
“Oh right,” Steven laughed, “Um, over to the right.”  
“What the… did someone drop a glow stick?” Sour Cream asked.  
“Glow sticks aren’t usually round, Sour Cream,” Jenny said.  
“Sadie,” Steven asked “you still have your phone on you right?”  
“Yeah, hand on a minute.”  
Steven listened as Sadie rummaged through her pockets. Then there was a slight click as her face was illuminated by the blue lights of the screen.  
“Can you turn on the flashlight and come with me to check it out?”  
“Why?” Sadie asked, her eyebrows raised.  
“I...just have a feeling,” Steven responded.  
“Okay,” Sadie said after a short pause, “but I’m letting you know that this is how at least 70% of horror movies start.”  
“Hey, we’re not staying behind on this,” Jenny said.  
“We’ll be your backup,” Buck added.  
Steven nodded in agreement but then realized his friends probably couldn’t see it. So, he turned and headed for the glow tape that marked the stairs. They walked in tense silence as they drew closer and closer to the glowing object. Finally, Sadie raised her flashlight to reveal...a girl. Her skin was a pale green and her short hair was made up of streaks of blue and green. Her only clothing was a dark green sleeveless jumpsuit. But Steven’s eyes were immediately drawn to the blue-green gem located in the center of her chest. Then he noticed the small black kitten huddled in her lap. The gem raised her arm to shield her eyes from the light. 

Phosphorus shied away from the bright light shining in her eyes. When her vision cleared she realized she was surrounded by five of the creatures. She pressed her body as close to the gray box as she could.  
“Um, hey there,” said the smallest one with the round shape as it reached a hand towards her.  
Phosphorous immediately flinched away from it’s outstretched hand.  
“Whoa, hey I’m not going to hurt you,” it said retracting its hand.  
“Steven, look,” said the other small creature with the yellow hair.  
Phosphorous wondered if there was something wrong with this creature as there were odd smudges of color around its eyes she couldn’t recall seeing on any other of the creatures. And why had she called the other creature ‘Steven’? Was that the name of the species? And what were they looking at? 

Steven directed his view slightly upwards to where Sadie’s flashlight was now pointed. He could now see wisps of smoke escaping from the cracks in between the walls of the box and a small door.  
“I think this is the fuse-box,” Sadie said.  
“The fuse-box?”  
“Yeah I think….Steven could she have caused the blackout?”  
“I don’t...did you?” Steven asked, looking at the gem.  
The gem only brought her eyebrows together and continued to stare at him in silence. Steven then turned back to Sadie.  
“I guess it’s possible. I mean Pearl caused a blackout once but she didn’t mean to. She probably just did it accidentally.”  
“Wait so that flash of light was her?” Sour Cream asked.  
“I think so,” Steven responded.  
“Think she can do it again?” Sour Cream asked.  
“Why would you want her to do that?” Jenny asked.  
“Well it was a bit bright but it was still totally rad. I bet we could have an amazing rave to it.”  
“You’re nuts Sour Cream,” Jenny said.  
“Nah I dig it,” Buck said, “it was like some crazy force of nature.”  
“Whatever,” Jenny said raising her hands in defeat, “what do you say girl? Think you can put on that light show again?”  
“Um...what? No. I...I can’t. I’m waiting,” the gem said.  
“Waiting? For what?” Steven asked.  
“For my guards. The gems who brought me here. I can’t be here alone.  
The kitten in her lap gave a squeal of protest as she squeezed it a little too hard.  
“Oh no it’s okay! You aren’t alone. There are other gems here! See?” Steven said as he raised his t-shirt to reveal his own gem.  
The gem’s eyes widened as she reached her hands towards his gem. When it was about an inch away his gem began to glow as if acknowledging her presence and Steven felt an odd tingling sensation spread out from his gem and across his body. Seeing the glow the gem quickly snatched her hand away. Steven slowly lowered his shirt.  
“Your name is Phosphorus right?”  
Phosphorous jerked her head up in response.  
“I don’t know if you’d call them guards but I can take you to the gems who brought you here,” Steven offered while extending his hand once more. 

Phosphorous didn’t know what to make of this ‘Steven’ before her. That was definitely a gem in this Steven’s nave and a quartz no less. But this Steven didn’t look like any of the quartz’s from her memories. Steven looked like all the other creatures she’d seen. Was he doing that on purpose? And what of this Steven’s companions? Were they gems too? And what of this designation of ‘Steven’? Was it some sort of rank like general or captain? It certainly didn’t sound like a type of gem. And, yet, this Steven had shown her kindness. Respect even. The companions as well had shown no desire to push or shove her. The Steven had even offered to take her to the gems who had brought her here. With only a moment of hesitation she took the Steven’s outstretched hand and allowed herself to be led out of the building. 

Steven felt Phosphorous’s hand tighten around his as he led her through the crowd outside the building and back towards the jeep. He wondered if something besides the concert had made her so wary of crowds but figured this wasn’t the time to ask. As they made it back to the jeep Jenny eyed it critically.  
“This might be a tight fit,” she said.  
“We’ve squeezed four in the back before,” Sour Cream said with a shrug.  
“Not for this long of a drive,” Jenny retorted.  
“We’ll just have to keep a close eye out for cops,” Buck said placing a hand on Jenny’s shoulder, “I’m going back to grab our amps. I’ll be back in a minute. Sour Cream, give me a hand?”  
Sour Cream finished stowing his mixer in the trunk and followed Buck back through the crowd. Steven opened one of the back doors.  
“Here Phosphorous,” he said.  
Phosphorous simply stared at him.  
“You sit her,” he said patting the seats.  
Slowly, carefully Phosphorous slid into the back seat of the jeep.  
“And then you fasten this, like this,” he said buckling her seat belt.  
Phosphorous fingered the seat belt nervously.  
“It’s just a safety precaution. You probably won’t even need it,” Steven reassured her.  
“So that’s a cute cat you have there,” Sadie said, trying to distract her.  
“Cat?” Phosphorous asked.  
“Yeah, that’s what we call his...her species. There’s lots of different species here on earth,” Steven explained.  
“A cat...” Phosphorous said a little softer this time.  
Sadie reached over from her position in the front seat and lifted the kittens tail.  
“A girl,” she elaborated, “did you name her?”  
“Name?” Phosphorous looked down and then pointed at the kitten, “She’s cat.”  
“No,” Steven laughed, “Cat is the name of her species. She needs her own name. One that belongs just to her.”  
Phosphorous picked up the kitten from her lap and turned her so that they were facing each other.  
“What’s your name?” she asked the kitten.  
“Cats can’t talk,” Sadie laughed.  
“Mew,” cried the kitten.  
“Her name is Mew,” said Phosphorous.  
“Uh I guess that works,” Sadie admitted.  
Just then Buck and Sour Cream returned with their amps stacked on a dolly. They loaded them into the trunk and then Steven, Sadie, and Sour Cream squeezed into the back with Phosphorous. As they head for the highway Phosphorous turned to Steven.  
“Steven?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Why are you not wearing a safety precaution?” Phosphorous asked.  
“Oh don’t worry. I don’t need one. I’m super tough!”  
Buck chuckled from the front seat.  
“Don’t worry too much. We’ll be back in Beach City before long,” he said.  
“Yeah you’re going to love Beach City!” Steven exclaimed.  
“I sure hope so,” Phosphorous whispered to Mew.  
Mew only purred in response.


End file.
